Uber’s $1 billion ad business expected to remain untouched amidst Google’s third-party cookie fallout

“Whatever Google’s decision is, that’s their business,” Paul Wright, head of international at Uber Advertising told Digiday. “First-party data that retail media networks have been producing actually is much more powerful [than third-party cookies] in terms of performance.”

Considering Uber’s vantage point, according to three agency execs Digiday spoke with for this story, it’s a fair position to take. The ride-sharing app sells various ad formats, including ads that appear in Uber and Uber Eats apps, emails, cartops and in-car tablets. And back in June, Uber opened the doors to programmatic buying across its rides app. It’s a closed loop ecosystem in which Uber operates within its walls, per agency execs, leaving Uber insulated from the cookie fallout.

“That’s fully bulletproof,” said Jon Morgenstern, evp, head of investment at VaynerMedia. At least that’s the case as far as cookies are concerned, he added. “Even if that stuff was picking up the heat, the temperature was rising, owned and operated is still is still safe.”

Regardless of where the cookie lands (and how many Chrome users choose to opt in) advertisers are still ready to invest in the growing retail media network space, which now has more than 200 contenders, according to Mimbi, a retail media intelligence platform. Notably, advertisers are grappling with the influx with dollars only stretching to cover so many ad networks, but it hasn’t stopped them from shelling out dollars. Global retail media spending is set to surpass $150 billion, according to the World Advertising Research Center (WARC).

“Uber is sitting on a lot of valuable data, especially among a very coveted cohort, which is this Gen Z, millennial group of individuals that are very comfortable using the Uber platforms, whether it’s for transportation or consumption of goods or purchases,” said Jennifer Kohl, chief media officer at VML ad agency.

Uber isn’t alone in its presumed insulation. Other retail media networks will likely mirror its strategy as the fate of the cookie continues to come into focus. All said third-party data is under scrutiny, making retailers’ first-party data like gold for advertisers. And as long as retail media networks are shelling out their owned customer data for advertisers to buy ads on their owned media channels, they’re relatively sheltered from Google’s third-party ripple effects, per agency execs.

“There’s no going back. The damage has kind of been done. The disruptions happened,” Morgenstern said, referring to retail media’s growth spurt. “And so there’s some relief [in finding alternative identifiers], but the Ubers of the world are certainly still going to benefit.”